Hell Hath No Wrath
by Maya Palemoon
Summary: A young girl transformed by and rescued from Nazis joins the BPRD. Rating for Language and violance. Chapter 3 fixed.
1. Captured

Hell Hath No Wrath

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April 1943. Off the coast of France.

The ship's rhythmic rolling no longer bothered Maya. She never thought of herself as the kind to become seasick, but she was the first few weeks out. The young Cherokee girl had lied about her age in order to be included in this mission. The mission, to sneak Jewish refugees out of Nazi-occupied France, had so far gone smoothly. She made her way below deck where two hundred men, women and children traveled with hopes of a new life without fear. At sixteen, Maya never thought she would be living on the edge_. _She drifted among the refugees. One of the crew, Ben King; an heir to big money, stepped below.

"Maya, we need you topside," Maya nodded and followed him to deck. Several of the crew seemed to be antsy.

"We got company," the captain said, handing the spyglass to Maya. Through it, she saw a Nazi patrol boat.

"They weren't doing patrols when we came in,"

"No, they weren't," The captain put away the spyglass as the patrol boat pulled alongside the ship. A Nazi officer and several soldiers boarded. The officer made a beeline to the captain.

"What have you on board, Captain?" he asked in a thick accent.

"Only what I was given permission to have, sir," The captain put on a French accent. "I carry foodstuffs and laborers and their families," The officer nodded. One of the soldiers returned to deck and spoke to him in German. He turned back to the captain.

"You were not given permission to carry the infidel Jews," Maya then remembered some of the refugees still wore their yellow stars. They were caught. "This ship is now property of the Füehrer and the crew and passengers are under arrest," He turned on his heel and boarded the patrol boat. Maya exchanged terrified glances with Ben in the moment before more Nazis boarded the ship and herded them below deck. Maya ran a finger over the beads of the rosary on her right wrist. She could hear the children crying. Maya felt like crying as she crossed herself.

After returning to French soil, the crew was herded to trucks while the refugees were herded toward waiting cattle trucks. Maya lost count of how many days they spent in that truck. Even Ben, a tough as nails Southerner, was terrified at what was to come. When the truck stopped, Ben grabbed Maya's arm.

"No matter what happens," he said. "Remember that I love you," The doors opened and soldiers started shouting at them to get out. As they piled out, Maya saw they had been taken to a medical facility.

"Hell," From what she heard of the Nazis, that was not good.

Once inside, they were forced to strip and dress in white shirts and pants. A man in a white lab coat with a swastika on the sleeve joined them.

"You are the lucky men, and woman, that will be spared hard labor in one of the Füehrer's work camps. You have been chosen to partake in a test of a new treatment that will save human lives," he smiled. "Good luck,"

"Olive Ewe," Maya whispered to Ben as they were separated.

"Olive Ewe," he mouthed back. She prayed he would make it out alive. The man in the lab coat was leading her to her cell.

"You are quiet," he said. Maya didn't respond. The man chuckled. "What was such a young girl as yourself doing on a ship full of men?" He turned when she didn't respond again. "Child, I am trying to make conversation. I like to get to know my patients. Makes my job more personal,"

"You like to get to know people you plan on murdering? How nice," He frowned at her.

"That is not true. We chose our patients carefully. Non-Jews. You are Catholic, if I judge this correctly," He held out Maya's rosary. "I will allow you to keep if you will speak with me as we walk,"

"Fine," The rosary was Maya's most prized possession. They continued on.

"It will suit me better if I knew your name. I am sure you do not like being called 'Child',"

"Only if you tell me yours," The man chuckled.

"Fair enough. My name is Dr. Hedrick Stillwagner. And you?"

"Maya. Maya Palemoon,"

"Palemoon is an odd name,"

"So is Stillwagner," Stillwagner laughed as he stopped in front of one of the cells. After opening the door, he handed her the rosary.

"Sleep well, Maya," he said as she wrapped it around her wrist. "For tomorrow we begin our test," The door shut and Maya turned to survey her prison. The room was small with a narrow cot against one wall. She sat on the cot and finally let the tears go.

_Six days later_

Stillwagner opened the door. For once, Maya refused to look at him. She had been told the day before the injection she had been given would kill her in five days.

"I come to give you congratulations, Maya," He said with a smile. "You are the longest living of your test,"

"Go to hell," was her response. Stillwagner waved the two aides out.

"A beautiful girl like you should not have such language,"

"Cut the crap, Nazi,"

"You are angry. Why are you angry?" Maya finally turned to face him, giving him a dirty look.

"You tell me. It could be the 'we don't murder people for the sake of the perfect Nazi race'. Or it could be the 'I forgot to mention that our patients have a life span of less then a week when we use them as guinea pigs'," The Nazi frowned.

"Guinea pig is not the right word. It is test subjects,"

"Whatever you keep telling yourself," Stillwagner stepped into the hallway.

"I will speak to you when you have calmed down," He shut the door. Whatever he had given her, it was changing her. She had discovered her hearing had heightened and her night vision was much better, not to mention she could smell the different scents of the different aides. That was what scared Maya. The fact she was developing animal senses.

Weeks passed before she began to notice the physical changes, beginning with the change in her skin color. When Stillwagner made his daily visit, he gaped. Maya stared at her arms and hands, panic rising. Her skin had turned from the tanned skin of a Cherokee to a medium blue during the night. The scientist scribbled notes into his book. Maya was too shocked to even notice him standing there.

"My God!" Stillwagner breathed in his native language before backing out.

Over the next few months, other traits appeared. Maya was terrified as each trait became noticeable. Blue fur, claws and a tail came next. With each trait, Stillwagner jotted down more notes.

"What did you do to me!? What the hell did you give me!?" Maya screamed at him. Whatever they had injected her with had turned her into a cat-like creature.

"Truthfully, Maya, I am not sure what was in this mixture. Each patient is given a different mixture,"

"You son of a bitch! You damned Nazi bastard!"

"Now enough with the name calling and the foul tongue. I do not appreciate that,"

"I don't give a flying rat's furry ass if you don't appreciate me calling you what you are!"

"I am afraid I will not be able to visit you any longer. Good luck,"

"Good riddance!" she spat as the door shut.


	2. Liberated

Young Army Captain Hartman spread out a map on the table. He pointed to a spot on it.

"This is our target, boys," he said. "A Nazi medical facility. We go in and put them out of business. Any questions?" Not a word. "Good. Let's move out," As they prepared for the mission one of the men stopped him.

"What do you think we'll find, Captain?"

"I don't know. I really don't know,"

Outside the facility, Hartman made hand signals to move in. Moments later, an explosion followed by shouting was heard.

"Let's move!" They quickly moved in. Once in, they began to hear gunshots and screams. As they jogged through the facility, they looked into the now open rooms. Bodies lay in various positions. A dark shape crawled through a hole in the ceiling a Nazi soldier had made as death took him. One of his men aimed at it.

"Let it go!" In the cell it had escaped from, another soldier lay with his neck facing an odd angle. "I don't think it was here voluntarily," A bloodcurdling scream came from down the hall. A figure in a white coat tried to plaster himself against the wall

opposite a cell. Hartman and his men cautiously approached the room.

"Do not come closer!" he shouted. "This room holds a demon," The men glanced at each other.

"I don't believe in demons," Hartman stepped forward. The man grabbed him.

"Don't go in there! Please!" Several rifles cocked. The scientist immediately let go. Three of the soldiers took him down the hall. Hartman approached the room. Inside the door lay a Nazi soldier whose throat had been ripped out. His blood was pooling around him. Looking into the room, he saw a figure huddled against the wall. It was dressed in white. It was covered with blue fur and a tail lay limp on the floor next to it. Long black hair hung down, preventing Hartman from seeing its face. It was hugging itself and shivering, obviously ill. A white and red rosary hung from its right wrist. It lifted its head a little and looked up at him with cat-like brown eyes.

"I'm American," it said weakly with a female's voice. Hartman immediately knelt down next to her.

"We're here to help you," he said as he picked her up. She clung to him as Hartman carried her from the prison that God knows how long she had been in.

"Move out! Check the other rooms," he said, looking down on the creature's catlike features. "Stay with me,"

Hartman carried the cat-like woman outside to the troops waiting outside. Several recoiled at the sight of her.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Get me a blanket and the medic!" he ordered. The blanket came before the medic. Setting her down, he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She was still shivering as she pulled it closer to her. She looked into Hartman's blue eyes.

"My name is Maya Palemoon," she whispered before losing consciousness.

Maya slowly opened her eyes. Looking around she saw she was no longer in her prison. She had to blink several times before it finally sunk in she was free. After a moment, she realized she was in a hospital. She

gave a content sigh and closed her eyes. She heard voices.

"I don't know what the hell she's capable of," an American accent said.

"What makes you think she's dangerous, Doctor?" a British accent answered.

"She's a cat for God's sake! She ripped out a man's throat!"

"I would have, too, were I her. I'm going in wither you wish me to or not,"

"Professor Broom, — "

"I have seen more things then you would like to know," That seemed to end to discussion. The door opened and footsteps approached. Maya inhaled letting Professor Broom's scent fill her nostrils.

"You're not afraid, Professor," she said, still not opening her eyes.

"Should I be, Miss Palemoon?" She opened an eye and looked at the man sitting next to the bed.

"One of the last things I remember is ripping out a man's throat. Everyone around here reeks of fear," She frowned and turned her eyes down at her hand. "Is this permanent?"

"I'm afraid so, dear," he said. "What ever you were given during your captivity bonded with your DNA,"

"What does that mean?" Broom chuckled.

"It means, genetically, you are a cat capable of speech and intelligent thought," Maya picked at the blanket. "Miss Palemoon, President Roosevelt has established a top secret agency, the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense,"

"Paranormal?"

"Hitler is a member of a powerful occult society. Your uniqueness could help us,"

"Help you? How?"

"Well, Dear, you have feline abilities. They will be helpful,"

"Hitler won't live forever," Maya looked up at Broom "Will he?" He chuckled.

"He shouldn't. He'll die someday, I'm sure. When that time comes, you'll be one of the Bureau's agents in, for lack of a better word, bumping the things that go bump in the night," He picked up the rosary from the table and handed it to her. "And I think you would be perfect for the job,"


	3. Dragon's Breath

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March 2007. Northern China

Five figures cautiously approached the entrance to the cave. Two were obviously human; a man and a woman. The man wore a forest green jumpsuit. The woman wore jeans and a jacket. The other three would cause anyone to run screaming. At the head was a large red demon wearing a brown overcoat and black pants. A red tail seemingly having a life of its own could be seen moving under the hem. In his belt was a very large revolver. His right hand looked like it was made completely of stone. Behind him were a merman and a cat-like being. The merman wore goggles and a type of respirator. His clothing was like a second skin. On his belt and in sheaths on his legs and arms were knives. The cat wore black pants, motorcycle boots and a black sleeveless top. Both the merman and the cat were blue and had revolvers on their belts. They stopped at the entrance.

"Alright, me and Wesa will be going in,"

"Why are you taking Wesa with you, Red?" the man asked.

"Cause Wesa can sniff things out the rest of us can't," The cat cleared her throat.

"I'm standing right here, guys. You can stop arguing about whether or not I'm going with Red,"

"Sorry," the demon started into the entrance. "You comin'?" Wesa sighed.

"Let's see if I can sniff out a dragon," the merman raised a gloved hand.

"Um, Red, Wesa?"

"What, Brother Blue?"

"If the dragon is hiding in there like the locals say, there is a good chance it will be a fire breather,"

"Your point?"

"Be careful. I really don't think Manning will want — "

"A crispy kitty, I know," Wesa gave Red a dirty look.

"I feel _so_ much better now," The two went into the cave.

Red waved his left hand in front of his face.

"What smells like Blue's breakfast,"

"Sulfur. Mostly found in volcanic areas and dragon's breath,"

"You sound like Blue,"

"I'll take that as a complement," she teased. Before long, they came to a vast cavern littered with bones and charred bodies. Out of habit, Wesa sniffed the air. The air was heavy with the smell of sulfur. Red crouched next to one of the bodies and started fumbling around his coat. Wesa cautiously approached the edge. She sniffed again as she scanned the area around them. She could barely smell Red's scent through the sulfur. Wesa squinted across the cavern. She thought she had seen movement. Behind her Red was muttering. She _had_ seen movement. Two gold dots appeared.

"Ah there it is," Red said. She saw the shape.

"Um, Red?"

"Let's see what you can tell us," Wesa knew Red had his amulet out about to wake the dead.

"Red?" The figure stretched out its wings. "HELLBOY!"

"What?" He turned toward her. "I'm busy,"

"Dragon!" The dragon roared.

"Aw, crap!" He leapt up and pulled Wesa away from the edge. "Move it, Kitty!" Wesa didn't have to be told twice. She heard the dragon begin it's pursuit. Behind her, Wesa heard Hellboy fire the Samaritan. Moments later, she heard his hooves behind her.

"DOWN!" He tackled her, knocking the breath out of her and landing with his bulk on top of her.

Blue stood in front of the cave's entrance, his hand ungloved and spread out. The agent paced back and forth, muttering to himself. The woman leaned against the side of the cave with a bored look on her face. She let a blue flame play across her fingers.

"Take cover!" Blue shouted as he pulled her away from the mouth and shoved her against the wall of the nearby rock.

"Take cover? What — " Flames shot out of the mouth of the cave, engulfing the agent. He screamed before the woman pulled out her revolver and ended his suffering. She put a hand to her ear.

"Red? Wesa? You guys ok?"

Hellboy picked himself up off the ground.

"That's gonna hurt later," He helped Wesa to her feet.

"No kidding," She grabbed her tail and extinguished the flame on the end. "Why is it every time I partner with you I have a ninety-five percent chance of being killed?"

"Because I'm me," Wesa smiled and shook her head.

"Red? Wesa? Come on, guys. Don't make me come in there,"

"Sheesh, Sparky," Wesa said over the radio. "You don't have to yell,"

"You hurt?"

"I'll be able to tell you that later. I had a demon on top of me,"

"Last I checked, you ain't fireproof," Wesa rolled her eyes as Hellboy shook off his ruined overcoat.

"Come on out and let Blue have a look at you, Wesa, to make sure Red didn't break anything,"

"On our way," Hellboy started in the opposite direction. "Where you going?" He held up the Samaritan.

"We gotta make sure that thing is dead," Wesa rolled her eyes.

"Of course," She muttered as she and Hellboy parted ways.

When she reached the mouth of the cave she smelt the scent of burnt flesh. Wesa put her hand under her nose.

"I take it Agent Miller is charbroiled?"

"Yeah. Dumbass wouldn't listen when Blue told him to take cover,"

"Figures," Blue put his ungloved hand on Wesa's back.

"I'm surprised Red didn't break anything," he said.

"Speaking of," Sparky said, peering into the mouth of the cave. "Where is Red,"

"Playing 'Lone Hero' again. Wanted to make sure the dragon was dead,"

"Of course," They heard a clicking behind them.

"I take it the thing's dead,"

"Yep," Hellboy walked out of the shadow of the cave's mouth. "At least it better be. I just fired the rest of the Samaritan's bullets into it's head," Sparky sighed.

"Let's get crispy Miller wrapped up and let's go home,"

"I second that,"


	4. Briefing

_BPRD Headquarters. New Jersey_

John Meyers put Abe's breakfast into the shoot.

_Thank you, John_

"Uh, no problem," Abe chuckled as he ate. Maya poked her head through the door.

"You know you can smell that down the hall, right?" she said with a smile.

_Hellboy reminds of that everyday._ Maya laughed.

"Finish your breakfast and meet us in the conference room,"

_Case?_

"I'm pretty sure. Too much time has passed since Miller was fried for Manning to jump our butts about him,"

_True. Meet you there_

"Meet you both there,"

"You want me to walk you there?" Maya growled.

"I can walk myself," The door closed. John sighed.

"Why is she so hostile?"

It's not really my place to tell you. He turned to the merman.

"You know?" Abe raised a brow. "Oh right," John looked back toward the door. "Why can't you tell me?"

"Just trust me. It's not my place," John turned back around. He hadn't heard Abe climb out of the tank. "I know you read Liz's file when you first started," Abe shrugged. A half smile appeared on John's face.

Hellboy, Liz, Maya and Manning were already sitting at the table when Abe and John arrived.

"I'm glad you two decided to join us,"

"Sorry," John sat down quickly. Abe shook his head before taking his place between Hellboy and Maya. Manila folders were passed around.

"Alright. We've had some paranormal activity in Berlin. According to witnesses, there been some sort of bat-like creature in the area killing, of all things, members of the former Nazi party," Maya made a low growl in her throat that only Abe heard. "The odd thing is, it's only people who were alive during World War II. One survived by," he glanced over at Maya. "Crossing herself," Maya raised a brow.

"So it doesn't kill Catholics?"

"What, is it afraid of a crucifix?" Abe shook his head.

"I doubt it. The only things I've seen afraid of crucifixes are demons from the deepest regions of Hell," He quickly thumbed through the file. "This thing doesn't strike me as a demon, let alone one from that deep in Hell," Maya read the file. She picked up the blurry picture of the creature.

"Is there anything else we need to know that's not in the file?" she asked.

"What do you mean?," Manning asked, getting offended. "Everything is there," Liz flipped through the file.

"She's right. There's nothing here saying how long this has been going on. Or a good description of Batman,"

"I wasn't told how long the activity has been going on. And there's not a good description because witnesses aren't close enough to see it well enough. The ones that were close enough are dead," Abe and Liz smiled.

"Katrin Hedrick was," Abe stated. Hellboy leaned back.

"When do we leave?"


	5. Batman

John was sitting in the cargo hold of the BPRD cargo plane, reading something in a manila folder.

"Interesting read?" John nearly jumped out of his skin. Liz laughed. He glanced behind her. Hellboy was making bullets for the Samaritan. Abe had just climbed out of his tank and was drying himself off. Maya was laying on one of the bunks bolted into the wall reading a book, her tail flicking back and forth. Liz looked over his shoulder at what he was reading. Then looked at him and raised a brow.

"You know she's not very trustworthy of humans,"

"I've noticed. Now I know why,"

"And you also know why she's very touchy about the subject of the Nazi party,"

"Yeah. And I know if she finds out I read her file, I'll be her new scratching post," Liz smiled.

"That's reserved for Manning. You'll just be the bad catnip toy," She turned to go, then stopped. "Try to earn her trust. The Professor didn't fear her. Don't be scared of her and she might start to let you in. Might. But don't try to be her rock, just be her friend," Liz walked off. John noticed Maya watching him from over her book. John sighed and closed the folder.

__

Berlin, Germany

"See anything?" Liz asked, via radio.

"Nope," Maya was perched on top of the house they were staying in. "What did Mrs. Hedrick have to say?"

"She told us her life story. Mainly how she didn't know what she was getting into when she joined the Nazi party. It was a bandwagon thing,"

"So she says,"

"Easy, Kitty. She converted to Catholicism after the war. Thought maybe God would forgive her for joining with such a hate driven group. Met her husband in the church, blah blah blah," Maya laughed to herself. "She was able to give us a good description of Batman. I never knew John could do a sketch composite," Maya rolled her eyes. She caught movement to her right.

"Hey, Hellboy? Since when did you start roof hopping when your not chasing something?"

"Since never. I'm south of the house. On the ground," What she had thought was Hellboy jumped off the church bell tower roof.

"Damn, he's got a massive wingspan," Batman wheeled around and started heading in her direction. "Oh, crap!" He was faster than she anticipated. As she leapt off the roof, aiming at the house next door, Batman grabbed her from behind.

"The bat thing just picked up Maya!" She heard Abe exclaim. "In pursuit. They're heading north," Below, she saw a blue figure dart out of the house. It didn't take long for the creature to out fly Abe.

"Put me down, mother— ahh!" It let Maya go and she found herself plummeting to earth. She landed hard in an alley. "That's gonna hurt later," she said to herself as she painfully climbed to her feet. Then he attacked. Maya managed to duck and Batman hit a dumpster. He growled as he crouched next to it, shaking his head. He was brown with brown blond hair, wearing grey pants with no shoes and no shirt. He looked up and glared at her with blue eyes. Maya started to reach for her revolver. Batman leapt then howled in pain. He staggered back and tried again with the same effect. He backed toward the back wall of the alley with a pair of matching claw marks across his chest. Maya's fangs were bared as she snarled, revolver aimed at Batman. His face softened. She realized he was staring at the rosary hanging from her right wrist.

"Got a problem with the rosary?"

"Where did you get that?" He had a southern twang to his voice. Maya's eyes narrowed.

"My mother. What's it to you?" He looked down at his hands.

"My God, Maya. What did that bastard do to you?" Now it was Maya's turn to stare. She lowered the revolver little by little. Tears rimmed her eyes as that familiar pain in chest returned.

"Ben,"


	6. Choices

They heard clicking heading toward them.

"You have to get out of here! Now!"

"No! I thought — " Hellboy came around the corner, the Samaritan aimed at Ben.

"NO!" Maya grabbed Hellboy's arm, causing him to miss his mark. Ben took flight. He stopped on the edge of the building and looked down at Maya. His lips moved, then he was gone. She knew what he had said.

"Damnit, Maya! I had a good shot of him! What's wrong with you?"

"You wouldn't understand,"

"I understand that you just let a killer bat go!"

"I let him go because what happened to him isn't his fault!"

"What are you talking about? He's a giant bat,"

"He's still human," She pushed past Hellboy. "Like me," she whispered.

John held the phone away from his ear. Around the corner, Abe could hear Manning yelling over the phone.

"Find it! Berlin shouldn't be that damn big!"

"That's the thing. After Maya confronted it, it went into hiding. Nobody has seen it since,"

"Put that over grown cat on the phone!" A worried look came over John's face.

"Um, that's a bit of a, uh, problem,"

"It better not be a problem! Go over to her and hand her the phone!" Abe had enough and relieved John of the phone.

"Manning, you're going to give Agent Myers a headache and yourself high blood pressure if you keep yelling like that,"

"Look, Fish stick, don't start being cute with the one-liners,"

"I'm not. Maya's out looking for it. Thus she can't come to the phone," Liz chose that moment to walk into the room.

"The moment she comes back, tell her to call me!" Manning slammed the phone down in Abe's ear.

"Manning?"

"He's in a very pleasant mood today," Liz smiled.

"From what I have heard him talking to some of the agents, he doesn't seem to be a very pleasant man," Abe, Liz and John hadn't notice Katrin come into the room. Abe offered his arm, which she took without a hint of the oddity of taking a fish's arm. She sat in one of the plush chairs. She didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"They're both one of the many faceless victims of the Nazis," Abe and Liz glanced at each other.

"What makes you think that?"

"The anger the bat creature had against anyone associated with the Party," she paused. "And hurt. I believe they took something dear from him. As for the girl," he shook her head. "They took her and she was never the same when she was liberated. They took the same from her as they did from him. But they are different. She takes her anger out on the paranormal," Katrin smiled at the three agents. "I see much. I also saw she's not on the roof tonight,"

"She's looking for him,"


	7. Church

Abe was able to avoid most of the human residents of Berlin, most were afraid of what had been stalking their streets. As he passed by the church, he was nearly knocked down by the feelings drifting from it. He took a glove off and waved his hand in front of the church. Guilt, anger and hurt were strong coming from it. Abe walked into the church, half expecting to see Maya sitting in one of the pews. The church was empty. Abe frowned and waved his hand to sense where the feeling were coming from.

"What's the point of that?" Abe looked up to see two blue eyes looking down at him from the second level.

"To see," The speaker's head and shoulders came into the candlelight. He looked human with the exception that he had brown fur and wings.

"With your hand?"

"Yes, I have seen much,"

"I'm sure you have," Abe placed his hands on the backs of two of the pews.

"You really don't want to harm anyone, but your anger seems to have gotten the better of you,"

"You don't know me!" Batman growled.

"Benjamin Horace King III. Son of Marilyn and Benjamin Horace King Jr. You were the heir to King Shipping and Transport. Dedicated yourself and a ship to helping Jews escape the Nazi regime. Was in, at the time, a taboo relationship with a Cherokee girl,"

"How did you know all that? And it wasn't that taboo,"

"I'm telepathic, Benjamin. My name's Abraham Sapien, but you can call me Abe,"

"Ben," He paused for a moment. "Prove you're telepathic. Who was the girl and when and where was the last time we saw each other?" Abe was surprised at who he was thinking.

"Maya Palemoon and two nights ago in an alley,"

"The last time we saw each other before that,"

"64 years ago in a Nazi medical facility in Austria," Ben nodded.

"You're good," He glided down and landed behind Abe. "How long have you two known each other?" Ben stood at the same height a human would. He had icy blue eyes and brown blond hair. His facial features were human with the exception of fangs. He was covered in brown fur. He had two pairs of claw marks on his chest.

"A long time. I was the only one who knew she had lost someone she cared deeply for. She doesn't talk about it,"

"She doesn't?"

"Trust me, it's best that she doesn't. Do you need me to look at that?'

"No, I've had worst," He glanced toward the cross on the back wall. "I thought Stillwagner had killed her. She was the youngest, ya know," Abe sat in one of the pews. He knew Ben wasn't evil, but a victim of a past dictator. "Maya lied 'bout her age so she could help. Made three trips. The third wasn't too successful. Of course," Ben looked back at Abe. "He never would tell me if she was alive. Told me whatever it was he had injected us with was fatal. He's lucky he didn't come in there after I grew claws," He paused.

"How did you escape? The Americans?"

"Yeah. Some American troops came in and tore the hell out of the place. The Nazis still there ran all over the place, killin' the survivors. Or attempting to. Soldier came in an tried to shoot me. Broke his neck and got the hell outta there. Almost got shot by some of the Americans," Ben gave a half smile. "I heard one of them holler to let me go. That I wasn't there voluntarily. If I'd known Maya was still alive, I'd gone back for her. I wish I'd known," He looked back at the cross again. "I've been talkin' to statues for the past 50 years. It's good to have someone that'll talk back," Abe smiled.

"I understand there. You said you'd been talking to statues for 50 years. You had human contact after escaping?"

"Yeah. World War I vet. Just bout killed me. Thought I was after his sheep," Ben smiled again. "Realized I wasn't just some critter when I hollered. Stayed with him for fourteen years. He was a lonely old man with flashbacks. Poor guy watched his best friend die in his arms. He would have died old, cold and alone hadn't he shot me. After his death, I left and pretty much stayed away from people. But the fact that bastard ruined my life kept me from doin' anything good. I might as well been dead, that's probably what the government told my folks. Maya's too. Lately, I decided the Nazi's needed to pay for what they done. Tracked down quite a few. Then came the lady that crossed herself. I couldn't bring myself to kill her. Figured Maya probably find me and haunt me if I killed a Catholic. That pretty much stopped me from killin' more," Ben's head swiveled toward the door and he flew back to his hiding spot. Abe then felt someone approaching the door. He stood when the door opened. Too late to hide.

"Abe? What are you doing here?" Maya dipped her first two fingers into the holy water and crossed herself.

"Looking for you," Abe felt the shame coming from Ben.

"Sure you're not out looking for our bat?" Her voice was cool and collected, but he could feel the agitation coming off her.

"No. Why?" Abe resisted the urge to look over his shoulder. "Why are you so agitated?" Maya glared at him, but knew she couldn't lie to him.

"He's behind you,"

"Who?"

"Abe, have I ever told you you're a horrible liar?"

"How did she know I was up here?"

"Scent," Ben dropped from his hiding place. Maya tensed. Abe could see the shame on Ben's face. But to his surprise, Maya relaxed. That caused Ben to relax as well. Abe wandered off to give them privacy. And to keep a lookout for Hellboy and Liz. Liz would possibly understand, but Hellboy wouldn't. Abe took a glove off and placed it on the confessional and immediately removed it. Confessions were none of his business. He walked over to the alter under the huge crucifix. This close, he could see the details of the cross and the Christ. It made Abe think of the past he couldn't remember. He absentmindedly placed his ungloved hand on the alter. What he saw when he did that put a new perspective on things. Something…evil… had been here. He stretched his fingers out and put his whole palm on the alter and concentrated.

_The evil thing had been here recently. He couldn't catch a good look of it, but what he did see of it seemed lizard like. The priest's wide eyes told his terror._

_"Where is the bat?" It hissed. The priest shook his head, too terrified to speak. It raised a scaly hand and extended a claw. "Don't make me use this,"_

"Abe?" The merman pulled his hand back. Maya and Ben were giving him worried looks.

"Have any of the priests been attacked lately? Not by you, of course,"

"Come to think of it, yes," Ben said. "Bout a month or so ago. He was found where you're standin'. Kept mutterin' something 'bout a demon and a bat. Whatever it was cut him up pretty bad," Ben frowned. "Like it was tryin' to drag information from him,"

"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Maya asked. Abe almost smiled. It was a joke between he and Maya most times.

"There's something more dangerous than Ben stalking the streets," The cat nodded.

_You saw something?_

_Yes_"Ben, you'll need to stay out of sight from everything and everyone," Abe said. "We'll need to get this new bit to our director,"

"And get Hellboy off your tail," Maya added. "We can get you a spot with the Bureau. That should help,"

"The Bureau?"

"Sorry. I should have told you. I've been working for an above top secret agency called the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense,"

"The BPRD is real?"

"Just do what Abe said. Please listen for once," Ben nodded.

"Alright," Abe and Maya turned to leave. "Maya?" The cat turned.

"Yeah?"

"If you can get me that spot, can you hold it til I turn Stillwagner into beef jerky?"

A look passed over her face that Abe had never seen and her lips curled back into a snarl.

"Only if you call me before you do so I can help," The tone Abe had never heard. He blinked.

"Deal,"

After leaving the church, Maya took a deep breath.

"Sorry you had to see that,"

"I didn't see anything," Maya gave Abe a grateful look.

"Call Hellboy and Liz. The sooner we can clear Ben's name and get the other one off the streets, the better," Abe agreed.


End file.
